The construction site off Route 5S in the town of Florida is a busy one. A parade of trucks and machinery criss-cross the 100-acre parcel seven days a week from dawn to dusk.
“They usually start about 7:00 in the morning,” noted Pat Holt.
Heavy Highway
April 25, 2018
Published by Sheryl Barr at April 25, 2018
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Source: http://norcal.news, April 25, 2018
By: Bethany Klein
When most people think of environmental disasters in the San Francisco Bay Area, they almost certainly think of earthquakes, seeing that there are two major fault lines near San Francisco.
However, even though earthquakes can wreak immeasurable, unpredictable havoc, they are certainly not always to blame for sending people to hospitals.
Gas leaks are.
On Monday, April 23, 2018, a gas leak at a homeless shelter at roughly 11 a.m. Pacific Savings Time caused people to feel severely nauseous. Construction workers had been digging in an alleyway right before the leak started spreading gas vapor throughout the area with.…
March 21, 2018
Published by Sheryl Barr at March 21, 2018
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Source: http://6abc.com, March 19, 2018
A contractor struck a six-inch gas main in Hamilton Township, Mercer County on Monday.
Calls starting coming in around 1 p.m. for a strong smell of gas in the area of the township known as Five Points.
The intersection was closed and traffic was being diverted through the neighborhoods.
Chopper 6 was over the scene as workers fixed the main.
No injuries have been reported.…
February 2, 2018
Published by Sheryl Barr at February 2, 2018
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Source: https://www.lexology.com, January 24, 2018
By: Smith Currie & Hancock
In 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) published its final rule lowering the permissible silica exposure level (“PEL”) from 250 µg/m3 to 50 µg/m3. In response, OSHA received petitions from both a collection of industry petitioners (“Industry”) arguing that OSHA made the regulation too stringent and several union petitions (“Unions”) arguing that OSHA failed to make the regulation stringent enough to protect workers. On December 22, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected all of the industry’s challenges to the regulation. See N. Am.’s Bldg. Trades Unions v. Occupational Safety & Health Admin., No. 16-1105, 2017 WL 6543858 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 22, 2017). The court further held that OSHA failed to adequately explain its decision to omit medical removal protections from the regulation and remanded the issues for further consideration.
At the forefront of the court’s opinion, it outlines 29 U.S.C. §655(f), “the substantial evidence standard”, under which OSHA only needed to provide substantial evidence to uphold the requisite threshold finding of a significant risk of material health impairment that will be reduced by the new PEL (50 µg/m3). Under this standard, while OSHA must rely upon a “body of reputable scientific thought” when assessing risk, it is not required to “calculate the exact probability of harm” or support its findings with anything approaching scientific certainty.” [pg 8]. “OSHA is not precluded from relying on imperfect evidence so long as it ‘recognize[s] and account[s] for the methodological weaknesses’ of the evidence.” [pg 14]. The basis of the court’s holding is that the Industry failed to demonstrate how OSHA failed to meet its substantial evidentiary burden.…
October 17, 2017
Published by Sheryl Barr at October 17, 2017
Source: http://wnyt.com, October 13, 2017
Residents of the town of Florida in Montgomery County contacted NewsChannel 13 this week. They’re concerned about a massive Dollar General distribution center being built in their backyards – literally.
They told us that in recent weeks they’ve noticed large clouds of white dust over the site and said it’s been blowing onto their properties. They’re worried it could be hazardous and asked us to investigate.
She has a front row seat to all the activity happening a few hundred feet behind her home. She and her neighbors have voiced concerns before, but she says they were assured the impact would be limited. Just a few weeks ago, she noticed big clouds of dust over the site, which she says wound up falling on her property.
“The wind a lot of times will blow out of the south, so we do get a fair amount of it over here,” she explained. “We keep the windows and doors closed most of the time so it doesn’t get in the house.”
September 19, 2017
Published by Sheryl Barr at September 19, 2017
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Source: http://boston.cbslocal.com, September 18, 2017
By: Ken MacLeod
There are health concerns in a Wilmington neighborhood after a construction crew started tearing down a house filled with asbestos, without following the proper safety procedures.
The issue was so bad; the Department of Environmental Protection was summoned to oversee things. When neighbors complained, it did bring about change.
Dave Norton worries about his granddaughter and his neighbors after the demolition triggered a cloud of asbestos dust.…
June 27, 2017
Published by Sheryl Barr at June 27, 2017
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Source: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com, June 25, 2017
By: Brooks Johnson
A homeowners association is suing the developer, builder and manager of the Superior Vista condominiums, among others, claiming the Mesaba Avenue complex was not properly built and ought to be repaired under warranty.
“Many areas of the building were not built to applicable building code, industry standard and/or engineering specifications … all of which is allowing for excessive water intrusion, deterioration and decay,” reads the suit by the Superior Vista Homeowners Association filed in St. Louis County District Court last fall.
It’s exactly the kind of suit that some say has discouraged new condo development in recent years, and one that could become less common due to a change in state law that passed the Legislature earlier this year.
“The number of townhomes and condos being built have dramatically dropped, in part because of this legal landscape,” said David Siegel, executive director of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. “If the liability is so great, and the costs are so great, we’re just going to stay away.”
Legislation pushed by Siegel’s group aims to slow down the liability lawsuits by requiring homeowner association membership to vote on such suits; require a maintenance record kept by the association; and mandate mediation before a suit is launched.
“We needed to put guardrails in,” Siegel said. “We don’t want to take away the ability to remedy the problems, but there are less expensive solutions that can solve the problems.”
June 27, 2017
Published by Sheryl Barr at June 27, 2017
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Source: http://www.journalgazette.net, June 25, 2017
By: Catherine Traywick
Energy Transfer Partners is making a mess of its biggest project since the Dakota Access pipeline.
Construction of the $4.2 billion Rover natural gas line has caused seven industrial spills, polluted fragile Ohio wetlands and angered local farmers. The company owes $1.5 million in restitution after demolishing a historic house.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is furious and a federal energy regulator has launched a rare public investigation that threatens to delay the pipeline’s scheduled Nov. 1 completion.
“We’ve not seen a project in Ohio with spills at this size and scale, and if we can’t even trust Rover to construct this pipeline, how can we trust them to operate it when it’s complete?” said Heather Taylor-Miesle, executive director of the Ohio Environmental Council.
Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based company led by billionaire Kelcy Warren, promised part of the 713-mile pipeline would open in July, but work is stalled on key segments until the company’s responsibility for the spills can be assessed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC.
“We are working with FERC and the OEPA to resolve these issues in a manner that is satisfactory to everyone involved, and most importantly ensures the complete remediation of these areas,” said Energy Transfer spokeswoman Alexis Daniel. Recent developments have not affected the project’s timeline, Daniel said.
Any delay would pinch natural gas producers that contracted to ship on the line, which will bring resources from the Marcellus shale to the Midwest.…
June 22, 2017
Published by Sheryl Barr at June 22, 2017
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Source: http://www.heraldsun.com, June 21, 2017
By: Virginia Bridges
City officials think the substance that turned part of Ellerbee Creek an oily orange last week may have been due to a city contractor’s mistake.
A city investigation found a city contractor improperly rerouted water meant to go to the city’s sanitary sewer system to a stormwater line, which flows into the creek. Contractor Crowder Construction was working at the Williams Water Treatment Plant on Hillandale Road.
City officials started looking into the issue Thursday, June 15, after receiving a report of the creek’s discoloration on the city’s stormwater hotline, where people can report pollution. The roughly 20-mile-long creek flows into Falls Lake, Raleigh’s primary drinking water supply.
Patrick Hogan, a city water quality technician, said the substance resembled a naturally occurring iron-oxide bacteria rarely found in a flowing stream.
Hogan walked the creek and found a break in the color near an outfall pipe, he said. He looked at maps of the drainage network, which led him to the treatment plant and the improperly routed pipe.
…March 10, 2017
Published by Sheryl Barr at March 10, 2017
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Source: http://norcalrecord.com, February 28, 2017
By: Charmaine Little
Plaintiffs in a major construction lawsuit that ended with a San Diego law firm recovering nearly $5 million have decided to stay silent after the ruling was in their favor.
The law firm, which represented Laurel Bay Community Association, won $4.7 million in the case that was filed Aug. 21, 2013, against the developer and converter, Hammer Development LLC and Hammer Laurel Condominiums LLC. The suit was also a complaint against the original contractors, Simpson Laurel Bay LP, SHLP Laurel Bay LLC and GWC Contractors LP. The development was slated to be a new apartment complex in 2004 before it was turned into a set of residential condominiums in 2005.
Commercials Metal Company is listed as one of the primary plaintiffs in the high-profile case. It refused to speak on the $4.7 million ruling.
“We do not comment on litigation matters,” Susan Gerber, manager of public relations for Commercial Metals Company, told the Northern California Record.…
March 10, 2017
Published by Sheryl Barr at March 10, 2017
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Source: http://www.natlawreview.com, February 1, 2017
By: Barbara J. Jordan, P.E., S.I. and Donald B. Leach, Jr.
In 2008, Ohio Northern University (ONU) entered into a contract with Charles Construction Services, Inc. (CCS) for the construction of The Inn, a new luxury hotel and conference center on ONU’s Campus, consisting of 57,000 square feet of space, including guest rooms, meeting rooms, kitchen, laundry, spa, front desk lobby, office area and support areas. After construction was complete, ONU discovered damage to the Inn caused by water intrusion and moisture in The Inn’s wall coverings, dry wall, insulation and exterior walls.1 Remediation of this damage led to the discovery of additional structural defects.2 ONU subsequently brought a claim against CCS in 2012 seeking damages relating to the deficient construction services. CCS then brought third-party claims against many of its subcontractors that performed the work, which resulted in the alleged property damage.
CCS’s insurer, Cincinnati Insurance Company (CIC), intervened in the lawsuit and filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the Hancock County Court of Common Pleas3 to dismiss it from its obligation to defend CCS, relying upon the Ohio Supreme Court’s precedent from Westfield Ins. Co. v. Custom Agri Systems, Inc.4 In Westfield Ins., the Supreme Court of Ohio held “that claims of defective construction or workmanship brought by a property owner are not claims for ‘property damage’ caused by an ‘occurrence’ under a commercial general liability policy.”5…